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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>2 Kings 18 NLT</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/2_kings/18.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/2_kings/18-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NLT</a> > 2 Kings 18</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../2_kings/17.htm" title="2 Kings 17">◄</a> 2 Kings 18 <a href="../2_kings/19.htm" title="2 Kings 19">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New Living Translation</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/nlt/esv/2_kings/18.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="hdg">Hezekiah Rules in Judah</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Hezekiah son of Ahaz began to rule over Judah in the third year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah,<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">a</span></a> the daughter of Zechariah. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>He did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>He removed the pagan shrines, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke up the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because the people of Israel had been offering sacrifices to it. The bronze serpent was called Nehushtan.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">b</span></a></p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>He remained faithful to the LORD in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the LORD had given Moses. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>So the LORD was with him, and Hezekiah was successful in everything he did. He revolted against the king of Assyria and refused to pay him tribute. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>He also conquered the Philistines as far distant as Gaza and its territory, from their smallest outpost to their largest walled city.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>During the fourth year of Hezekiah’s reign, which was the seventh year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel, King Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked the city of Samaria and began a siege against it. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>Three years later, during the sixth year of King Hezekiah’s reign and the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel, Samaria fell. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>At that time the king of Assyria exiled the Israelites to Assyria and placed them in colonies in Halah, along the banks of the Habor River in Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>For they refused to listen to the LORD their God and obey him. Instead, they violated his covenant—all the laws that Moses the LORD’s servant had commanded them to obey.</p><p class="hdg">Assyria Invades Judah</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign,<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">c</span></a> King Sennacherib of Assyria came to attack the fortified towns of Judah and conquered them. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>King Hezekiah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: “I have done wrong. I will pay whatever tribute money you demand if you will only withdraw.” The king of Assyria then demanded a settlement of more than eleven tons of silver and one ton of gold.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">d</span></a> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>To gather this amount, King Hezekiah used all the silver stored in the Temple of the LORD and in the palace treasury. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>Hezekiah even stripped the gold from the doors of the LORD’s Temple and from the doorposts he had overlaid with gold, and he gave it all to the Assyrian king.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent his commander in chief, his field commander, and his chief of staff<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">e</span></a> from Lachish with a huge army to confront King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. The Assyrians took up a position beside the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">f</span></a> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>They summoned King Hezekiah, but the king sent these officials to meet with them: Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator; Shebna the court secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian.</p><p class="hdg">Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>Then the Assyrian king’s chief of staff told them to give this message to Hezekiah:</p><p class="b"/><p class="pmo">“This is what the great king of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you so confident? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>Do you think that mere words can substitute for military skill and strength? Who are you counting on, that you have rebelled against me? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>On Egypt? If you lean on Egypt, it will be like a reed that splinters beneath your weight and pierces your hand. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is completely unreliable!</p><p class="pm"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>“But perhaps you will say to me, ‘We are trusting in the LORD our God!’ But isn’t he the one who was insulted by Hezekiah? Didn’t Hezekiah tear down his shrines and altars and make everyone in Judah and Jerusalem worship only at the altar here in Jerusalem?</p><p class="pm"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>“I’ll tell you what! Strike a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2,000 horses if you can find that many men to ride on them! <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>With your tiny army, how can you think of challenging even the weakest contingent of my master’s troops, even with the help of Egypt’s chariots and charioteers? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>What’s more, do you think we have invaded your land without the LORD’s direction? The LORD himself told us, ‘Attack this land and destroy it!’”</p><p class="b"/><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the Assyrian chief of staff, “Please speak to us in Aramaic, for we understand it well. Don’t speak in Hebrew,<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">g</span></a> for the people on the wall will hear.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>But Sennacherib’s chief of staff replied, “Do you think my master sent this message only to you and your master? He wants all the people to hear it, for when we put this city under siege, they will suffer along with you. They will be so hungry and thirsty that they will eat their own dung and drink their own urine.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>Then the chief of staff stood and shouted in Hebrew to the people on the wall, “Listen to this message from the great king of Assyria! <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>This is what the king says: Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you. He will never be able to rescue you from my power. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>Don’t let him fool you into trusting in the LORD by saying, ‘The LORD will surely rescue us. This city will never fall into the hands of the Assyrian king!’</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>“Don’t listen to Hezekiah! These are the terms the king of Assyria is offering: Make peace with me—open the gates and come out. Then each of you can continue eating from your own grapevine and fig tree and drinking from your own well. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span>Then I will arrange to take you to another land like this one—a land of grain and new wine, bread and vineyards, olive groves and honey. Choose life instead of death!</p><p class="reg">“Don’t listen to Hezekiah when he tries to mislead you by saying, ‘The LORD will rescue us!’ <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-33.htm"><b>33</b></a></span>Have the gods of any other nations ever saved their people from the king of Assyria? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-34.htm"><b>34</b></a></span>What happened to the gods of Hamath and Arpad? And what about the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Did any god rescue Samaria from my power? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-35.htm"><b>35</b></a></span>What god of any nation has ever been able to save its people from my power? So what makes you think that the LORD can rescue Jerusalem from me?”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-36.htm"><b>36</b></a></span>But the people were silent and did not utter a word because Hezekiah had commanded them, “Do not answer him.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_kings/18-37.htm"><b>37</b></a></span>Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator; Shebna the court secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian, went back to Hezekiah. They tore their clothes in despair, and they went in to see the king and told him what the Assyrian chief of staff had said.</p><A name="footnotes"></a><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn">a</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">18:2 </span><span class="ft">As in parallel text at 2 Chr 29:1; Hebrew reads </span><span class="it">Abi,</span><span class="ft"> a variant spelling of Abijah.</span><br><span class="fn">b</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">18:4 </span><span class="it">Nehushtan</span><span class="ft"> sounds like the Hebrew terms that mean “snake,” “bronze,” and “unclean thing.”</span><br><span class="fn">c</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">18:13 </span><span class="ft">The fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign was 701 </span><span class="sc">b.c.</span><br><span class="fn">d</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">18:14 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">300 talents</span><span class="ft"> [10 metric tons] </span><span class="it">of silver and 30 talents</span><span class="ft"> [1 metric ton] </span><span class="it">of gold.</span><br><span class="fn">e</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">18:17a </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="it">the rabshakeh;</span><span class="ft"> also in 18:19, 26, 27, 28, 37.</span><br><span class="fn">f</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">18:17b </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="it">bleached.</span><br><span class="fn">g</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">18:26 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">in the dialect of Judah;</span><span class="ft"> also in 18:28.</span><br></span></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><em>Holy Bible</em>, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. 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